


He Walked Into a Bookstore

by deservetobesaved (andloushallguideme)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Castiel Works in a Bookstore, Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pining Dean, Police Officer Dean, Romantic Gestures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 03:15:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12003834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andloushallguideme/pseuds/deservetobesaved
Summary: Dean goes to a new bookstore to find a book for Sam. He meets the cute owner and does not regret doing his brother a favor.





	He Walked Into a Bookstore

Dean walked up to the bookstore and heard a faint bell when he opened the door. The place smelled a bit like fresh flowers and he noticed several lit candles on the main counter. He didn’t see the enigmatic owner anywhere.

About a month ago, he saw a fit, young guy move into what was a vacant store. Dean was a police officer and because he often patrolled the area, he always noticed new people. It was part of his job to know what was going on in his assigned neighborhood. When he saw the new guy he was immediately intrigued. He hadn’t gotten a close look at him yet, but his dark brown hair, blue eyes, and cheekbones could be seen from afar. He had seen him lift a box of books on his shoulder and he was so distracted by his arms that he almost ran a red light.

He had finally gotten the courage to go to the guy’s bookstore (plainly called ‘The Bookshop’) when Sammy, his brother, had asked him to pick up a book for him. His brother was a history professor who focused on law. ‘Sure, Sammy, but you owe me one,’ he had said.

Dean heard a shuffling noise in a closet by the main counter and assumed it was the owner fixing things. He walked into the nearest aisle and started looking for the book. As he was heading towards the end of the aisle he bumped into the presumed owner and Dean was caught off guard by his intense eyes. He was even better looking up close and Dean noticed that they were roughly the same height and at eye level.

“I’m sorry, I heard the bell but I didn’t know which aisle you were in,” the guy said, breaking the silence. He smiled sheepishly at a slightly blushing Dean.

“Oh, that’s okay; it was my fault, I was too caught up in looking for a book,” Dean lifted his arm and rubbed his neck. _Introduce yourself you loser,_ his internal voice said.

“I’m Dean, by the way.” He held out his hand and the man shook it firmly, smiling.

“Officer Winchester, nice to meet you. I’m Castiel.”

Dean looked down and noted his name plate and chuckled, “Right, well, please, call me Dean.”

“Okay, Dean… So what were you looking for?” He asked, placing his elbow on a nearby shelf. Castiel was wearing a dark pair of jeans, a red henley, and some white converse. He made Dean’s heart beat just a little bit faster.

“Uhh my brother sent me, actually. He said he had called to see if you had ‘In Cold Blood’?”

“Ahh yes, the professor, Sam. Yeah I have some copies right over here,” Castiel walked two aisles over and pointed at several copies of the book lying on the lowest shelf. 

“Oh, perfect, thank you,” Dean kneeled down and grabbed two copies with a different cover.

“The only difference is the covers; your brother didn’t say what he preferred.”

“He won’t mind me choosing,” Dean replied, looking up at Castiel, who was a little closer than he was a second ago. Dean cleared his throat and stood up, noting the owner’s clean-shaven face and slightly unkempt hair.

“Do you need help in looking for anything else?” He asked, tilting his head.

“No, that’s it. For now…” Dean made it his mission right then and there to come up with an excuse to come back again soon. He hadn’t read anything for fun in years and he resolved that that was about to change.

“Okay, great, I’ll ring you up.” Castiel walked to the cash register as Dean followed and placed the book on the counter.

“So, how long have you been a police officer? If you don’t mind me asking?” Castiel asked, looking genuinely interested.

“About… 8 years? Wow, I’m old,” Dean chuckled as the owner grinned at him.

“You really aren’t… And thank you for the job that you do,” With a smile, Castiel placed the book inside a small plastic bag.

“Haha, thanks. And you’re welcome, I suppose,” Dean accepted the compliment shyly and handed him some cash.

“These candles smell really nice, by the way,” he added, attempting to lengthen his conversation with Castiel.

“Thank you, I love them. They smell like tulips, my favorite flowers,” he replied, placing the change and receipt in Dean’s hand. Their hands brushed slightly and Dean got goosebumps.

 _This guy is going to kill me_ , he thought.

“Oh, nice… Well, I’ll see you around, Castiel,” Dean walked backwards and hesitantly added, “Can I call you Cas?”

“Sure, Dean. You can call me anything you want…I mean, Castiel or Cas, either is fine,” Cas blabbered and laughed nervously.

“Great, see you!”

“Bye, Dean!”

____________________________________

Three days later found Dean heading to ‘The Bookshop’ again. When he wasn’t preoccupied with his work his mind wandered back to Castiel and their short conversation. It had been a while since he had dated anyone and he hoped Cas was interested. He was nice and probably smart (people who own bookstores are most likely smart, right?) and fit and if Cas wasn’t into guys Dean would be severely disappointed.

He walked into the store and heard the faint bell once again. This time, Cas was sitting on a stool behind the counter reading a book.

“Hi, Dean, nice to see you. How are you? Fighting crime?” He smiled mischievously as Dean smiled at the thought of him remembering his name.

“Hey, Cas, I’m good! And yes, always. Well today has been a bit uneventful but that’s not a bad thing. The less crime the better right? How are you?”

“Yes, that’s true. I’m good as well, just catching up on some reading… Are you on break per chance?” Castiel looked hopeful and Dean just about melted at his soft expression.

“Yes, I am, what’s up? Do you need help with something?”

“No, I was just going to ask if you wanted some coffee and donuts? I have a pot of coffee back here,” Cas smiled sheepishly and raised his eyebrows, waiting for Dean’s response.

“Sure, I have some time to kill!”

“Great, you can take a seat over there, I’ll bring it over to you,” Cas pointed at a couch in the corner of the store and headed towards the back.

 _Was this a date_ , Dean wondered. He prayed to every god in existence that it was. A minute later Cas walked out with two mugs and set them on a coffee table that was in front of where Dean was sitting. He walked back two more times to get sugar, creamer, and the donuts.

“This looks super good. I had a light breakfast so this is definitely going to hit the spot,” Dean remarked, stirring his coffee and taking a sip. He turned a little so he was facing Cas, and Cas did the same. They were sitting on a three-seater sofa at opposite ends.

“Good, I’m glad. I haven’t actually eaten anything yet. I only opened the store about an hour ago,” Cas admitted, taking a bite of his chocolate frosted donut. Dean got distracted by the way Cas licked his lips and glanced away.

“Oh, right. I forget that not everyone gets up at 6 am. It must be nice being your own boss and having your own hours.”

“It is, it’s relaxing. I actually moved here because I liked this location better. The store used to be in the south side of town.” Cas held his mug in both hands and sipped it slowly.

“Oh, nice. You’ll like it here, it’s generally safe. I would know,” Dean remarked.

“Yeah, I guess you would,” He laughed and set his mug down.

“So how long have you owned this store?”

“Oh about 5 years? My grandfather passed and I had worked with him a lot before so he left it to me. It was nice to leave college and have a job waiting for me.”

“That’s pretty great! I would have loved that… I kind of had to bounce around to know what job I really wanted.” Dean remembered having several jobs until he decided to apply to be a police officer. It fit him perfectly.

 “So you love your job then? What’s your favorite part?” Cas chuckled and Dean smiled.

“Yeah I do love it, thankfully! Well… besides the whole helping people part, I really like being on the move. I like walking around the neighborhood, driving around. I’m kind of an active person,” Dean admitted. He got most of his exercise by walking around blocks.

“That’s nice, I don’t like sitting around for too long, either. I love reading but I like to get out of the house, too.” Cas replied, stretching his arms ad displaying his fitted tee rather nicely. _I am so lucky right now_ , Dean thought.

“Do you work out, then? You seem pretty… athletic.” He tried to say it in a non-skeevy way and hoped he succeeded. Cas didn’t need to know how badly Dean wanted to touch him.

“Haha, well actually I do jog occasionally.” He set his mug down and placed his clasped hands on his knee.

“Oh, cool,” Dean was about to ask Cas another question when a dispatcher requested his assistance on his walkie talkie.

“Oh, man. Sorry, Cas, I’m gonna have to head out. Someone needs to be apprehended,” Dean cursed internally for the interruption of their maybe-date.

“That’s alright, Dean. You go and be a hero,” Cas smiled at him and stood up at the same time as him.

“I will,” He winked at him out of habit and Castiel chuckled, red tinting his cheeks.

“I’ll uh- see you later then, Dean.”

“You bet!” Dean walked out before he did something stupid like attack Castiel’s lips and realized that he hadn’t even glanced at a single book.

________________________________________

Four days later found Dean walking towards the bookstore yet again, only he was holding a small bundle of flowers.

 _Okay, you can do this, Dean. You’re a Winchester_ , he thought determinedly.

He opened the door and the familiar bell rang once again. Castiel was picking up books off the floor when he glanced up and saw Dean, brightening up immediately.

“Hi, Dean,” he looked at him from top to bottom and cleared his throat. “Sorry, I just hadn’t see you out of uniform, you took me by surprise,” Cas nervously put his hand in his pocket. Dean was wearing a red and black plaid shirt with jeans and boots. He may or may not have changed three times that morning.

“Oh, yeah it’s my day off today… Um. Also, these are for you,” He slowly handed Cas the tulips and Cas smiled widely.

“These are lovely, Dean,” Castiel smelled them and looked up at Dean. “Thank you, it’s very thoughtful of you.”

“It was no problem, really… I was walking down the street and passed a flower shop when I saw them. You said they were your favorite and I hadn’t welcomed you to the neighborhood yet… so… welcome.” Dean bit his lip anxiously.

“You welcome everyone with flowers?”

“Uh… no.” Dean fidgeted and glanced down at his worn jeans.

“Good.” Castiel smiled and set the flowers on the counter. He walked back to Dean and kissed his cheek, making the butterflies in his stomach have a rave.

“Was that okay?”

“Oh my god, Cas, it’s more than okay.” Dean grinned, held his hands and slowly kissed Castiel’s lips.

The books were neglected once again.

**Author's Note:**

> My first AU! Thanks for reading! :)  
> tumblr


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